zoanthropy

American  

[zoh-an-thruh-pee] / zoʊˈæn θrə pi /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a mental disorder in which one believes oneself to be an animal.

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Etymology

Origin of zoanthropy

1855–60; zo- + -anthropy < New Latin -anthrōpia < Greek; anthropo-, -y ³

Explanation

If a person believes they've changed into an animal, they suffer from a disorder called zoanthropy. You might worry your sister has zoanthropy if she only speaks in meows — but she's probably just pretending to be a cat. Another term for zoanthropy is "clinical lycanthropy." Whatever it's called, it's an extremely rare mental illness in which a person sincerely believes they're in the process of becoming an animal, or that they've already become one. Zoanthropy is unusual but very serious, usually showing up along with psychosis, when someone loses all touch with reality. The word comes from Greek roots zoion, "animal," and anthrōpos, "man."

Example Sentences

For this is one of the specially fearful magic phenomena of zoanthropy that it is apt to produce in healthy persons the same delusion as in the sufferer.

From Modern Magic by Vere, Maximilian Schele de

The early days of Christianity are naturally full of incidents of this kind, but what is remarkable, zoanthropy was then already treated as a mere delusion.

From Modern Magic by Vere, Maximilian Schele de